Jersey Shore

SERIES The Big Bang Theory: Leonard has an idea for a smartphone application, but it causes friction in his friendship with Sheldon in this new episode (8 p.m. CBS). Wipeout: Contestants tackle an extreme obstacle course in the "winterized" edition of the competition series (8 p.m. ABC). 30 Rock: Jack (Alec Baldwin) tries to influence a congressional election to help a candidate (John Slattery) whose victory would benefit the network in this new episode (8:30 p.m. NBC)

Re "Where the shore used to be," Nov. 4 The decade from 2001 to 2010 holds the record for the most Category 5 Atlantic hurricanes: eight. In 2005, Hurricane Katrina destroyed much of New Orleans and severely damaged other cities on the Gulf Coast. Now we have Sandy, which has caused tens of billions of dollars in damage in New York and New Jersey. Will this decade break the previous record? How many more hurricanes and tornadoes must occur before the governments of the world admit that "we have met the enemy, and he is us," as Pogo famously proclaimed?

Poor New Jersey. Long the butt of jokes and a source of nationwide scorn, the Garden State's reputation has taken countless beatings over the years. And thank you, "Jersey Shore," for doing nothing to elevate the maligned state's image. So it came as no surprise to see the reactions of fellow Angelenos when I stated our plans last August: a vacation in the seaside hamlet of Cape May, the southernmost town on the Jersey coast and America's first seashore resort. The responses ranged from pity to bewilderment to smirking, with only a few registering as enthusiastic understanding.

Marc Jacobs isn't one to shy away from fashion risks. The often iconoclastic superstar designer - who has become synonymous with a certain young, casually cool New York state of mind - helped usher in the controversial "heroin chic" look in the '90s and favors a combo of kilts and combat boots for his daily work uniform. But for Jacobs' debut film role in the indie drama "Disconnect," which arrived in theaters in limited release last Friday, the style maven was forced to step outside his comfort zone - in terms of both fashion and raw physicality.

How can a home television set cost $85,000? It's big. Bang & Olufsen's new BeoVision 4-85 plasma TV has an 85-inch screen, measured diagonally, which conveniently comes out to $1,000 an inch. But there is at least one other plasma TV of that size, and it costs far less. Panasonic's 85-inch model goes for about $40,000. B&O, known mainly for its high-end audio equipment, boasts other attributes for its BeoVision set, including a triangular speaker system that jets out from under the screen, 3-D capability and proprietary enhancements to picture quality.

SUNDAY Cue the cello: It's a "Great White Invasion" and then "Jaws Comes Home" as Discovery Channel launches its annual "Shark Week. " And watch for "SNL's" Andy Samberg when he visits a "Shark City" off the coast of the Bahamas. (9 and 10 p.m.; 9 p.m. Thu.) We already miss the sadly canceled series "The Chicago Code. " But maybe we can make do with "Against the Wall," a new police drama that also takes place in the Windy City. Rachael Carpani, Treat Williams and Kathy Baker star.

Thanks to a brewing scandal centering on the closure of lanes leading to the George Washington Bridge, it might seem like Fort Lee, N.J., with its massively snarled traffic, has something in common with Los Angeles. But blood-boiling gridlock is hardly the only similarity between the two places: The site of New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's Bridgegate scandal was, in fact, once a cradle of the American film industry. The city that sits across the Hudson River from Northern Manhattan was a precursor of sorts to Hollywood when it came to film activity.

At the newsstand this month, the usual slew of tabloid staples appeared on various magazine covers: Angelina Jolie, at least one Kardashian and the most recent couple to come out of "The Bachelor. " But also featured was a new class of tabloid star: a handful of young teenage girls whose biggest claim to fame is being on a reality television show about getting pregnant at age 16. "Teen Moms Addicted to Surgery," read a recent In Touch Weekly headline, which went on to purport that three of the stars of MTV's series "16 and Pregnant" — who later graduated to the show's spinoff, "Teen Mom" — are thinking of getting breast implants, liposuction and nose jobs.